Natanya (Tany) Milner – Head of Primary

Welcome to Term 3. I hope you have had some time to relax and rejuvenate with your children over the holiday break. We are so excited about the opening of the new Innovation Centre and I would like to thank all those involved in the planning, design and construction of this fantastic new space. Sophie Poisel is working hard to set up the Primary School Imaginarium and we look forward to sharing more news about it soon.

Brains

I thought I may share some quick facts about the brain and learning. Research shows that when children understand how their brains work, it can have a positive impact on their learning. Here is some information that may help:

https://www.humanbrainfacts.org/interesting-brain-facts-for-kids.php

Ways to help the brain function:

• Sleep helps the body to rest and re-energise. It also helps brains to consolidate learning and retain memories. Lack of sleep can impact the creation of new memories.
• Healthy food impacts how well our brain works. Foods that are high in vitamins and minerals (such as folic acid) as well as omega 3 (such a salmon) can assist with memory. Foods with carbohydrates and iron can assist with alertness.
• Practice helps to strengthen neural pathways. The more you do something, the easier it will become.
• The hippocampus is responsible for memory. People who use their memories a lot have larger hippocampuses…so there’s another plug for the importance of practise.
• Exercise increases the blood supply to the brain which releases hormones that help people learn. Exercise is good for learning. Of course, it helps with health and wellbeing too.

Years 3-5 Sport and Rec camp

This year’s Sport and Rec camp will be held at Point Woolstonecraft from 5-7 September. This is a highlight of our year and we look forward to offering the adventure and independence that this experience brings. This year our pre-camp meeting for parents will take place on 15 August from 3.35-4.00 pm in the Year 3 classrooms. This meeting is for any Year 3 parents and also for the parents of new students in Years 4 and 5 who have not attended this camp before. There will supervision in the Triguboff Family Forecourt during this time.

Debating

I would like to congratulate our fantastic HICES Debating teams for their successes in this year’s competition. Our Emanuel Grey team has made it through to the quarter finals which will be held on 17 August.

A huge mazal tov to Miri Stubbs-Goulston, who has ranked as the number 1 debater across the regions. I am also thrilled to announce that Jasper Selinger, Leah Silberstein and Maya Zyl are ranked equal 3^rd and Liberty Waldner and Charlie Kerlander are equal 4^th. A big thank you also goes to Lauren Wigan who has worked tirelessly with the team to prepare them for the debates.

Congratulations to all of our debaters: Elias Davis, Charlie Kerlander, Renee Korotkaia, Oren Levin-Kahn, Sophie Masnick, Zak Michalson, Alice Milner, Jayden Segal, Jasper Selinger, Jacinta Shevelev, Leah Silberstein, Miri Stubbs-Goulston, Liberty Waldner and Maya Zyl.

Homework

We look forward to gathering insights from parents next week at our focus group discussions about homework. Thank you to those of you who have signed up for one of these upcoming sessions. You have been allocated the session that you elected. You will be sent an email with venue information by the end of this week. I would like to thank Helen Maynard for co-ordinating this process. We look forward to the fruitful discussion.

Parent Teacher night

Please save the date to discuss your child’s learning with their teachers at the Semester 2 Parent Teacher nights. You will receive an email for bookings later in the term. The dates are Monday 27 August (4.00-9.00 pm) and Wednesday 29 August (4.00-6.30 pm).  Please note that specialist teachers will only see the parents of Years K-2 children.

Mazal tov to Jonathan and Madison

I would like to congratulate Jonathan Goldberg and Madison Narunsky who were part of a team of Kids Giving Back volunteers who cooked, packaged and delivered nearly 500 warm, nutritious meals to local shelters and individuals in need during the holidays. Thank you to Jonathan and Madison for representing themselves, their families and their school so proudly!